Abstract

The revival of Islamic civilisation and culture is possible only by revitalising Islamic education and reorganising it on the basis of Islamic concepts. This opinion has been consistently voiced by leading 19th century Muslim reformers. In 1977 the First World Conference on Muslim Education was held at Makkah. The conference proved to be a major landmark in Muslim education. Over 350 Muslim scholars representing various academic fields and coming from Muslim as well as Western countries participated in this event, presented papers and approved crucial recommendations. This paper highlights the antecedents of this conference, reviews the progress achieved and failures experienced during the post-conference decades, and makes suggestions for concerted efforts to be undertaken in the 21st century towards fulfillment of the objectives of the conference.